D's Book Club - Beginning To Heal

So I read Beginning to Heal, A First Book for Men and Women Who Were Sexually Abused As Children at my therapist's request. It's actually a pretty good book if I substitute sexual abuse with my mom hauled ass on me when I was two.

The book has some good techniques in the Chapter Three - The Emergency Stage, for people who go through a period when sexual abuse is all the think about (again, sexual abuse with my mom hauled ass on me when I was two). There's a list called 'Surviving the Emergency Stage, which I think is actually helpful for anyone in a 'crisis' situation.

**Don't try to hurt or kill yourself.
**Remind yourself that you are not going crazy.
**Find people you can talk to.
**Allow yourself to think about the abuse (abandonment) as much as you need to.
**Drop any responsibilities that are not essential.
**Don't use alcohol or drugs to escape the pain.
**Get out of dangerous or abusive situations.
**Sit tight and ride out the storm.
**Develop a belief in something greater than yourself.
**Talk to people who are further along in their healing.
**Do as many nice things as possible for yourself.

All and all I would recommend this book to almost anyone who deals with mental issues. The chapters on Anger and Forgiveness are pretty good.